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Thousands of Children Enjoy Day Out in the Wild!

Monday 15th May 2017

Making friends with our mascot Billy the Badger!

Nearly 4,000 people enjoyed going wild in the countryside as ‘The Little Welly Goes Wild’ hit Surrey this weekend. The UK’s biggest children’s obstacle course included 30 exciting challenges spread over a 3km woodland route - and this year it was bigger and better than ever before.

The fun family event was set in the beautiful surroundings of Norbury Park, a reserve near Dorking, which is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The Trust’s free wild activities, including fire lighting, leaf bashing art, live owls and a photographic exhibition by Richard Peters attracted large crowds throughout the weekend. And the Trust’s mascot Billy the Badger was mobbed by excited children!

“Our marvellously messy mud kitchen, marshmallow toasting and woodland crafts were a big hit with families,” said Surrey Wildlife Trust’s Sophie Coad. “And seeing the children’s faces light up when they tackled our mystery wildlife gunge challenge was a joy. We had a wonderful wild weekend!”

It’s the second year of ‘The Little Welly Goes Wild’ at Norbury Park and organisers were delighted that so many children took part and had fun in the countryside this time. Every child who took part in the obstacle course was awarded with a special ‘The Little Welly’ medal.

“I loved climbing up the hay bale wall, squeezing through the tyres and the massive slide into the water - the foam pit at the end was brilliant!” said Luisa, who was celebrating her 11th birthday.

Rachel Hughes, founder of ‘The Little Welly Goes Wild’, said: “We were really lucky to enjoy some gorgeous sunny weather and there was a real festival atmosphere, with families enjoying picnics, live music, pony rides and fresh air fun – it was great to see so many children enjoying getting active in the outdoors.”

The Trust’s Sophie Coad added: “This is a perfect partnership for us – the team at The Little Welly also believes passionately in the importance of re-connecting children with nature and the outdoors. We hope events on our sites like this will encourage more families to get out and explore their wild side with us and discover how much happier and healthier they feel.”

How about signing up for '30 Days Wild' and have a go at doing something wild with your family EVERY day in the month of June – it’s fun and FREE! Sign up for your pack here >>